I was injured in a rear-end collision but there was little damage to my car. The other drivers insurance company says theres no way I couldve been injury when theres little damage to my car and theyre refusing to pay for my medical bills. What do I do now?

We hear this more and more these days from people who call looking for some advice following a Seattle area car accident. Many insurance companies have a policy to outright deny or only offer very small amounts to settle car accident claims when the vehicle damage is less than a certain amount such as $1,000.

Insurance companies do this despite having no credible scientific support for the suggestion that injury likelihood can be determined by the amount of vehicle damage. They hire so-called “experts” (we call them “hired guns”) to help them spread the myth that low vehicle damage equals little or no injury. If you’re in this situation here are a few tips.

1. Take your car to a body shop of your choice and have them give you an estimate of the damage. Often times the bumper may look fine, but the damage is hidden underneath the bumper where there can be significant damage. The bumper may need to be removed to find this damage.

2. Document everything surrounding the car accident. Get the estimate of the damage on your car, take photos of your car damage, take photos of the accident scene, getting the names addresses and phones numbers of all witness, and completing an accident report. You can get a blank accident report from your local police department if the police did not respond at the scene of the accident. If the police did respond – make sure you get the officers business card with the incident report number on it.

3. It may not be a good idea to repair the car or accept a vehicle damage settlement until you have spoken with an experienced Washington car accident attorney. You should hire an experienced attorney because a lawsuit will in all likelihood be necessary to get you a fair recovery for your injuries from the car accident.